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Travel

“Lets have some beers”

The reaction of Eddie Jones to England’s abject performance in the final was 2 days boozing and the group set off to Shinjuku the partying quarter of Tokyo. I don’t get this. They are athletes , alcohol is a depressant , the reality of failure will only be delayed, mental issues dominate [...]

November 6, 2019 // 0 Comments

Scheduling an itinerary

When I worked in the travel industry one of the hardest things was to schedule an itinerary that pleased the clients. You must always remember that clients can often arrive exhausted after their air travel and the last thing they want is to tramp around a crowded tourist site. You therefore need to [...]

November 2, 2019 // 0 Comments

Kobe Herb gardens

We Rusters are a perverse crew. We have one staffer who is so afraid of hospitals he once passed out in one and not as a patient, Bob lives in a marina but has no interest in boats and I have large garden but my knowledge of and interest in plants are scanty. However wherever I travel I always [...]

November 1, 2019 // 0 Comments

The story so far

Like others in the Rust party I am intrigued by Japan. It’s not just the language that makes it inscrutable but some of the customs too. One is “No tipping”. In the taxi from the shrines of Kyoto to our hotel I covered the fare and there was very small change of about one pound. I naturally [...]

October 31, 2019 // 0 Comments

Kyoto

At the high end of hotels there are basically three: the business hotel, the traditional and the boutique. Of the three I would prefer least to stay in a boutique. Invariably they offer small rooms and the Cross, where we are staying in Kyoto, is no exception – basically a big bed taking up [...]

October 29, 2019 // 0 Comments

On tour/ the non-rugby bits

Yesterday was a full on day of visiting the Hama-rikyu Gardens and a Sumo demonstration in the morning and taking the bullet train to Kyoto in the afternoon. The gardens exemplify a paradox of Japanese culture: they are an oasis of tranquillity amongst the sky scrapers of Tokyo reflecting how old [...]

October 29, 2019 // 0 Comments

The land of the rising sun .. and heated loo seat

One aspect of Japan on which the Rust party is unanimous is the delight of the heated loo seat. We first encountered this today on the bullet train from Kobe to Tokyo. The bullet train is super fast but inside not that much different from any train ‘though of course superior to Southern [...]

October 25, 2019 // 0 Comments

A la Colthard

I can only agree with Bob about the Japanese toilet. I am sure that the control console sadly in Japanese would reveal yet more sensory pleasures of hot jets “where the sun don’t shine”!!! Last night the group went out for a meal in a local restaurant. For many they had just arrived and into [...]

October 25, 2019 // 0 Comments

Upon leaving for the Land of the Rising Sun

This will be my first-ever visit to Japan – a veritable treat sprung upon me only ten days ago – and I have barely had time to leave Himself adequately set-up to run the family in my absence as I now look forward with barely-concealed excitement to seeing something of the beguiling nation that [...]

October 24, 2019 // 0 Comments

Japan -here we come

I am much looking forward to the next 10 days in Japan. The Rust party comprises Sandra, Derek and Tom to report on matters rugby and Nancy, Daffers and myself on everything else. My rugby playing experience was at my London school where I alongside other myopic, fatties and non-athletes were [...]

October 23, 2019 // 0 Comments

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